Leonardo DiCaprio will take to the silver screen as Jay Gatsby on May 10 when the latest adaptation of the famed F. Scott Fitzgerald novel, The Great Gatsby, makes its debut in movie theaters in the US, but there are more than a few brands looking to ride the publicity for some consumer love of their own.

Hotels.com is aiming to help one couple “live like Gatsby” for a weekend (though one hopes it doesn’t include the man’s incredible loneliness, insensitivity to others, painful death, or nearly empty funeral as part of the proceedings). Wannabe Gatsby-ites can tweet @Hotelsdotcom between May 6 and May 9 about their favorite luxuries while traveling and include the hashtag #GreatGiveaway. The grand prize: a two-night stay at Boston’s Langham Hotel, which was originally built in 1922 as the Federal Reserve Bank.

For those who don’t win, Hotels.com is showcasing getaways on its site that would be fit for a luxurious Gatsby-like vacation, such as the art deco murals of The Inn at Great Neck on Long Island to the live jazz and themed cocktails of South Carolina’s The Willcox, among other swanky locales.Continue reading...

Above, all of the name brand paper joss items available for this week's Qing Ming Jie or Tomb Sweeping Day when Chinese burn items to send to ancestors in the afterlife. Qing Ming is now big business.

China is the second largest economy in the world and every significant brand's future is impacted by its growth (or collapse)—but who's got the time?! Here's the week's reads that will make you look like a keen China observer in case you find yourself immersed in a cultural conversation.

This week: Apple still in trouble... China's anti-"fixie" rhetoric... infant formula saga... Celebrity China clout... PETA... counterfeit beer... Porsche... Startup Asia 2013... fly home to vote... "Baidu Glass"... W Hotels... McDonald's... Iron Man 3 to World War Z... cheap Bollinger... iPhone joss... "vulgar" Birkin brand... and more.Continue reading...

If there are two things that Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt need it’s more money and more publicity. So the pair will release their first wine from their organic 1,000-acre French estate, Chateau Miraval, next month with their names on the bottle, Bloomberg News reports.

The rosé, formerly known as “Pink Floyd,” will be labeled as Miraval and feature Pitt and Jolie’s names on the back of the bottle along with Perrin, the family that Brangelina has partnered with to help create and distribute the wine. The trio will also distribute a white later this year and reds in 2014. “We are intimately involved and quite enthused over the wine project with our friends the Perrin family,” Pitt said via his publicist.

One thing that brought Perrin and Pitt-Jolie together was the fact that both vineyards grow their vines organically, something the Perrin family has been doing since 1950. Now the Hollywood escapees are joining a long line of celebs who have extended their personal brands to alcohol brands.Continue reading...

Apple plans smaller iPad to compete with Google Nexus, as Nokia gets touchy too.

Getty Images bidding nears $4 billion.

Barclays ex-CEO Diamond faces UK MP grilling as Bank of England faces tough decision.

Asian tourists flock to Europe for luxury bargains.

Asus aims to help athletes "find their zen."

Branded content shown to have limited impact in US.

China bans shark fin consumption in luxury crackdown, as mainland slowdown affects Hong Kong luxury spending.Continue reading...

Old Spice Man is back — this time, it's Terry Crews — in a trio of commercials directed by comic writers Tim Heideker and Eric Wareheim from Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job! 

Crews video-bombs other P&G brand spots: for Charmin, Bounce and, for fun, a vending machine full of snacks.Continue reading...

Amazon tests new Kindle subscription model on science fiction fans.

Ann Taylor features Demi Moore in fall campaign.

Apple could double market share with iPhone 5, says analyst.

Blockbuster begs customers for a second chance.

Dish Network aims to compete with Netflix.

Disney partners with Chiquita and Fresh Express.

Facebook acquires iPad book publishing app; and sees landmark California privacy ruling.Continue reading...

Leonardo DiCaprio's next big film project is to star as infamous FBI director J. Edgar Hoover. After that, he'll play the title role in a remake of The Great Gatsby.

In the meantime, he's appearing in a short film called Find Me. Don't look for it at your local theater, however; it's an ad for Chinese electronics manufacturer Oppo's latest smartphone.Continue reading...